Smokers are 60 per cent more likely to quit if they use e-cigarettes, research has revealed.

A survey of nearly 6,000 smokers between 2009 and 2014 found that those using electronic devices were approximately 60 per cent more likely to quit than those who used either nicotine patches and gum or willpower alone, said researchers from University College London (UCL).

A fifth of smokers who used e-cigarettes were able to stop using tobacco cigarettes completely over the course of the survey, the researchers said in a study published on Monday (May 19).

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	The devices could "substantively impact" on public health because of their "widespread appeal" and the "huge health gains" associated with lowering smoking rates, said the study's senior author Robert West, director of tobacco studies at UCL's department of epidemiology and public health.

The survey only looked at patients trying to quit without professional support and Professor West stressed that NHS smoking cessation services still had the strongest evidence for helping patients stop smoking.

"[NHS services] almost triple a smoker's odds of successfully quitting compared with going it alone or relying on over-the-counter products," he said.

Although the long-term effects of e-cigarettes were unknown, the contents of their vapour would be "much less" hazardous than smoking tobacco, Professor West said.

Some public health experts have expressed concern that widespread use of e-cigarettes could re-normalise smoking, but Professor West said his team were "tracking this very closely" and had seen "no evidence" yet.

Smoking rates in England were declining and regular e-cigarette use among new smokers was "negligible", he added.

Last month, the RPS refused to soften its stance towards e-cigarettes, despite a survey showing no evidence that the devices acted as a gateway to smoking.

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